Cheers and Jeers

Abused Children Must Pay For Father's Therapy

(WOMENSENEWS)--The daughter and son of a man who sexually abused them for years have been ordered to pay for his court-ordered treatment at a New Jersey facility for the criminally insane.

"I feel like we're being victimized again," said Christina McMickle, 18, a high school senior in Sussex County near Sparta, according to the Newark Star-Ledger. She and her brother, Michael McMickle, 21, were notified that under a 1918 law children are legally required to help pay for their tormentor's treatment at a facility for the criminally insane.

Their father, Nelson McMickle Jr., was released from a treatment center for sex offenders after serving his sentence for attacking his children. Deemed a threat, he was recommitted.

Christina McMickle, the daughter, is not required to make payments before graduation and then she might not have enough money to defray costs. Her brother did not earn enough money to both sustain himself and to pay for his father's treatment.